Power Girl
Karen Starr, also known as Power Girl, is a Kyroptonian of great power from another dimension within the multiverse. Background Kara Zor-L was born on Krypton, not far apart from her cousin, Kal-L. Her parents, like her aunt and uncle, arranged for a ship to carry their daughter away from the planet that was soon going to be destroyed. The ship carrying the infant Kara, though, differed from Kal's. The "Symbioship" traveled to Earth at a slower speed, but the ship's artificial intelligence program interacted with her mind to create a virtual life for her, simulating the experience of growing up on Krypton, including copies of her parents and family. It also allowed her to age, though much slower than in real time. While the ship took 60 years to travel to Earth, she was physically 25 years old when she emerged. Not long after her arrival, she was taken in by her cousin and his wife, Lois, though she thought of them more as an aunt and uncle. Clark and Lois helped her adjust to real life and real relationships, as well as human culture and outlooks. Soon, she made her debut as Power Girl, and developed friendships and working relationships with many of the other costumed heroes of Earth. With the help of Amazon technology, she gained skills in computer programming in order for her to take on her human secret identity of Karen Starr. While she was only one of two survivors of an entire race, and sometimes had trouble dealing with people, her life was essentially happy. She had friends, family, and a purpose. And then things went sideways. Two universes combining and merging does not go unnoticed by the rest of the multiverse. Ripples travel through all realities, which turn to waves, and the effects range from minor changes to all out destruction. The memory of how exactly she wound up in this new world is fuzzy for her at best, and no one seems to know if she was simply pulled through some sort of rift, or flung into it when her own reality suffered a similar fate to her home planet. Whatever the cause, the end result is the same: she's now in another world that is not her home, and living amongst people who are like those she knew, but still vastly different. She even has her own "counterpart" on this world, though genetically speaking, she's probably more like a sister than a double (different combination of her parents' genes, perhaps). Finding her place in this world is going to be a challenge. Also, she happens to be best friends with Helena Wayne (The Huntress), the daughter of Bruce Wayne (Batman) and Selina Kyle (Catwoman), who originated from Earth 2 alongside PG. Personality Survivor: Power Girl is not only a literal survivor of a dead planet, and possibly an entire reality, but she has very much a survivor's mentality. She does not like to dwell on her past, or her losses, instead opting to focus on things she can change. Tough: Again, another literal aspect of Kara's that translates into her personality. She can shrug off bullets like flies, and she acts like it- a contrast to her cousin's genial, polite nature. Blunt: She has a BS tolerance level approaching zero, and generally never beats around the bush in conversation. She doesn't like to put on the kid gloves (except, perhaps, when dealing with actual kids, or extremely special cases). Cranky: PG is about as likely to punch someone in the face or verbally snap at someone as to try and "talk things out" or be diplomatic. Humor: Despite what some people may say about her, PG does possess a sense of humor, and has even been known to crack wise in battle. It's just quite a bit more dry, jaded and occasionally a little more bitter than most others' in the business. And a lot of people don't really hear most of her jokes over the sounds of bones breaking. Powers *'Kryptonian Physiology': As a Kryptonian (albeit one from another reality), Power Girl's body stores energy (particularly solar energy, which she absorbs through her skin) in her bio-cellular matrix to fuel a variety of powers linked to her electromagnetic capabilities. *'Super Strength': Power Girl's strength is essentially on par with that of Superman's. She is capable of lifting or moving something as large and heavy as a planet, though doing so would be taxing to say the least, and probably put her out of action for quite some time. *'Invulnerability': Due to a super-dense molecular structure powered by her energy absorption, Power girl is near impossible to physically harm through mundane means. At least, until she's exposed to red solar radiation or kryptonite. *'Superhuman Stamina': While Kara does need to rest and absorb solar radiation in order to thrive, she requires less sleep than a human being, and does not technically need to eat or breathe. *'Flight': Kara is capable of self-propelled flight, and is capable of reaching escape velocity (7 miles per second). *'Superhuman Speed': Like her cousin, Kara is capable of moving "faster than a speeding bullet." She's capable of moving faster than the human eye can see, easily able to dodge or catch bullets, projectiles and other attacks with ease. She also perceives things at a greater speed, and is capable of visually tracking things such as bullets, or fleeing speedsters. *'Super-Breath': Kara can compress air in her lungs to such a point that she can create a gust of wind through her breath capable of freezing matter or knocking over nearby obstacles. *'Super-Senses': All five of Kara's senses are enhanced well beyond human capabilities. She is, for instance, capable of hearing a cry for help from miles away. She is also capable of: *'Telescopic Vision': She can "zoom in" on objects, people, etc from miles away at will. *'X-Ray Vision': Kara is capable of viewing objects through most solid matter. Dense matter such as lead blocks this ability. *'Molecular Vision': Kara is capable of viewing matter at a molecular level without the aid of such things as microscopes. *'Heat Vision': Not exactly a super "sense," Kara can create intense heat originating from her eyes in a concentrated beam of stored energy. *'Super Healing': When something manages to injure her, Kara is capable of healing at about ten times the speed of a normal human, provided she has access to solar energy and proper rest. Skills Combat/Brawling: Power Girl is a skilled hand-to-hand combatant, particularly when it comes to making use of her powers in the field. While she's no black belt on par with the likes of Batman, she knows how to throw a damn good punch- even if she's stripped of her powers. She's trained with her world's counterpart to Wildcat, as well as other JLA'ers. Business Sense: In her home reality, Karen Star worked for several years in the software industry, and learned many of the ins and outs. A woman in a male-dominated field, she learned quickly how to handle negotiations, competition and finances in order to advance as quickly as she did. Computer Programming: While her initial knowledge of the field came from the Amazonian "purple ray," in the following years, she continued to learn on her own through experience, seminars and other more traditional means. Kryptonian Knowledge: Thanks to the unique "symbioship," Kara effectively has 25 years of memories of living on Krypton, giving her rather extensive knowledge of its culture, technology, history and people. Boons Genius-Level Intellect: Whether it's because of the artificial intelligence that "raised" her, hailing from an "advanced" alien race, or just the luck of the draw, Kara is very intelligent and quick thinking, with excellent recall for facts and figures. JSA: Currently, Power Girl is an invaluable member of the Justice Society of America, which consists of heroes from DC Comic's Golden Age. These members include the original Flash, Jay Garrick, Green Lantern Alan Scott, Carter Hall AKA Hawkman, Hour-Man, Doctor Mid-Nite, Ted Grant (also known as "Wildcat"), and several others. Due to her Kryptonian physiology, Power Girl is considered the primary powerhouse of the JSA. JLA: One of the first things Kara did upon arrival in this reality was to get in contact with the counterpart to the team she worked with back "home." She hasn't quite joined the roster just yet, but she does have means to contact them, and possibly could join in the near future, once she's more well-adjusted to being here. CEO of Starrware Industries: At one point, PG was the CEO (Chief Executive Officer) of her own R&D firm called Starrware Industries, which was named after her civilian identity, Karen Starr. Starrware Industries was divided into various subsidiaries, which included Starrware Inc., and Starrware Labs. This corporation devotes its efforts towards developing technology, as well as providing both technological and biological solutions to the world's environmental problems. Flaws Kryptonite: Like the Kryptonians of this reality, Kara-L experiences a loss of power, strength and stamina when exposed to the radiation produced by Kryptonite. Projectiles and blades crafted by the material could damage her as easily as a mundane sort could a human being- though if she were able to rid herself of the exposure, she would be able to heal at a much faster rate than a human could. But the key factor that separates her from other Kryptonians is that she's only affected by Kryptonite from her native reality, which is Earth 2. As her reality no longer exists, this weakness is nearly impossible to exploit. Magic: Power Girl has no defense whatsoever against magic energies, and is as vulnerable as any human is to such things. Unlike the weakness to Kryptonite from her native reality, Power Girl can still be affected by magical energies from any universe, whether she is currently on Earth Prime (The main DC Universe), or in another alternate universe. Psionics: Telepaths, empaths and other psychics have as easy a time affecting PG as they would a normal human being. Given her physical capabilities, this could pose quite a threat were a telepathic enemy turn her against her team mates, or innocent civilians. Villains such as Gerard Shugel (Better known as "Ultra-Humanite"), who are physically capable of using psionic abilities, can use their telepathic abilities against Power Girl. Red Solar Energy: Solar radiation from a red sun, or even a well-made artificial recreation of it brings her down to the strength, speed and stamina of a human being of her size and weight - albeit one who works out a whole lot. Much like her weakness to Magic and Psionics, Power Girl can still be affected by Red Solar Energy if she is in an alternate universe as much as she is in her native universe. Cranky: Whether she's acting as Power Girl or Karen Starr, Kara has a very, very low BS tolerance, and gets fed up with people very easily. Not only is it easy to annoy her, it's almost too easy to get her angry. She's not one for temper tantrums, exactly, but she is more likely to punch a villain in the face, or verbally snap at someone who crosses her than try to approach things from a more diplomatic means. Emotionally Distant: Karen doesn't let many people get close to her. Maybe it's because she's afraid of hurting them, maybe it's because she's lost so many people in her life and doesn't want to be hurt herself. Whatever the reason, she tends to live a very solitary life. She goes to work as Karen Starr, she helps others as Power Girl, and she goes home and feeds her cat. There's not much of a social aspect to her life at the moment. Out of Place: Simply put, this is not the world Kara Zor-L grew up in, and the people in it are not the friends and family she knew. While counterparts to her cousin and his wife exist here, as well as doubles of some of her friends, they're really not the same people. They have no memories of her beyond her arrival in this reality. It's often even a little painful to be around the doubles of the people she knew and lost, like living among ghosts. The fact that there's an other "her" (sort of) often makes her feel redundant, or like some sort of interloper in this reality. All in all, she has a hard time thinking of this world as "home" and never really feels like she belongs. Logs Including Power Girl 2010-08-15: Mister Rogers Gets a Neighbor 2010-08-17: Up On the Rooftop, Drip, Drip, Drip 2010-08-18: From Smasher to Smashed: PG, Cap and Stargirl take on some neo-anarchist goons. 2010-08-20: Kryptonian Deja Vu or Didn't I Have This Conversation Last Night?: Power Girl further complicates Clark's Life with Extradimensional Paradoxical Relationships. 2010-08-23: Stranded Souls: Power Girl and J’onn J’onzz become acquainted. Category:Taken Feature Character Category:Kryptonian